Project Azrael
by GregHayes
Summary: It was a simple enough job: deliver a mysterious cargo to a research facility on Noveria. However, the crew of the MSV Infinite soon find themselves missing one of their own, and caught up in a sinister plot with consequences for all of Citadel Space.
1. 01  Shore Leave

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect,any of the planets mentioned in this chapter, Kowloon-class freighters, the Systems Alliance, the Attican Traverse, asari, or Times Square on Armistice Day. Everything else is mine, but feel free to borrow.

Chapter 01 – Shore Leave

Electric sparks leapt off the MSV _Infinite_'s drive core like a flares leaping off a star. William Truman wiped the sweat from his forehead and knelt down to the first discharge cable, struggling to attach it to the drive core's control panel.

The intercom cracked. "Truman," Captain Miranda Dalton says, "Chen says we're about to hit Zion's atmosphere. You have that drive core ready yet?"

"I'm working as fast as I can," Will snapped, shoving the cable into the correct port. Another spark of lighting leapt off the drive core as the energy flow reversed. Will paused for a second to make sure he was still alive, then reached for the second cable.

The _Infinite_ was nothing special – a Kowloon class freighter, that ubiquitous symbol of the Systems Alliance's commercial enterprise. Will had only signed onto the ship's crew as an engineer a few months ago, but the captain and her crew had been working the Attican Traverse for at least five years.

It was dangerous work, of course – Will's predecessor had made the mistake of wandering outside the ship while they were grounded for discharge on Xawin, and gotten eaten by a thresher maw for his trouble. Even if you played everything absolutely by the rules – dock only at colonies, atmospheric discharges only, and stay the hell away from the Terminus Systems – you still ran the risk of being shot up by any of the thousands of pirate bands that called the Traverse their home. So, it wasn't surprising that someone like the captain would try something like this.

Normally, Will would have rejected the plan right off, but he had been more than a little drunk at the time and the though of trying to run the expanse of the Traverse all the way to Earth with a cargo hold full of element zero had seemed like an exciting adventure at the time.

Idiot.

"Truman…" the captain said, warningly.

"We're going to play a game, captain," Will said, pulling in the second discharge cable, "_I'm_ going to stop the ship exploding, and _you're_ going to shut the hell up."

The discharge cable snapped neatly into place. The drive core flared, lighting up the engine room like Times Square on Armistice Day.

"Truman, if you don't get that drive core ready _right now_…"

"Hold on!" Will shouted. He jumped to his feet, swung himself over the main control panel, and threw the switch.

From outside, it must have looked like someone throwing the switch on the galaxy's biggest holo projector. Lightning flared up along the _Infinite_'s bow as she slipped beneath the waves of the gas giant Zion's upper atmosphere. Sparks whipped up and illuminated the hydrogen and helium around them, conjuring up a light show as beautiful as any aurora. Will only wished he could see it.

"And," he announced with a staccato beat, "we are _done_."

Sighing with release, he lay back on the floor and thumbed his com.

"That was a close shave, Truman," the captain said.

"You don't pay for me 'close,' captain," Will said, "seems only fair you shouldn't blame me for it either." The com channel crackled with static, and even without seeing her Will knew the captain had just rolled her eyes.

"Are we going to explode any time soon?" she asked.

"Negative, ma'am," Will replied.

"Good. We're setting down on Asphodel for a brief shore leave, then finishing our run. We should be out of the worst of it, now."

"Roger that, captain," Will said, pushing himself to his feet, "let's do it."

* * *

Port Redwood might have been a tiny outpost by Alliance standards, but after a month in the_Infinite_'s cloistered corridors it was like being let free on the streets of Constant. Claude Dupree took a deep breath as he stepped out of the _Infinite_'s sterilized interior and into Redwood's equally sterilized airlock.

"Ah," Dupree said, "don't you just love the fresh smell of recycled air?"

Will chuckled and stretched his arms up above his head, stepping out of the airlock behind the _Infinite_'s cargo master. "Beats the hell out of sitting next to a giant lightning rod all day," he said.

Dupree smiled and strode off down the station corridor. Will had never been to Asphodel before – all their previous stops in the Utopia System had been on Eden Prime – but Zion's largest moon seemed surprisingly busy. Station personnel and hydrogen-3 miners walked past on both sides in the wide corridor, Will keeping close behind Dupree's larger, crowd-breaking form.

"So," Dupree said, obviously eager to strike up a conversation, "Mai turned me down again."

Will rolled his eyes. "And this _surprises_ you?"

"I'm charming, witty, good-looking," Dupree answered, counting off his fingers, "what's not to love?"

"You hid inside her quarters to watch her get undressed," Will said, pointedly.

"Oh, I remember that!" Dupree exclaimed with an air of wistful nostalgia, quickly shifting his course to take them down a side corridor leading to the main cafeteria, "couldn't walk for a week afterwards. But it was worth it."

Will sighed. "I don't see why you have to reduce everything to sex."

Dupree looked back over his shoulder as they passed through the end of the corridor and into the cafeteria. "That's because _you_ have a small…"

He was cut off when a man in black body armor nearly bumped into him from behind, sending him reeling to the floor. The man didn't stop moving, and Will managed to get out of the way just in time as he walked by.

"Hey!" Dupree shouted, rising to his feet, "Who the hell do you think are?"

The man didn't answer. By the time Will was able to get a good view of the corridor back to the main causeway, he was gone.

Dupree shrugged. "Damn good for nothing mercenaries," he muttered, starting again toward the cafeteria service counter.

The cafeteria was like all cafeterias – messy and crowded, with walls painted in regulation colors guaranteed to make you think unceasingly about throwing up. It reminded Will a bit of being in high school again, but with miners and armed security personnel.

It was when Will reached the service counter that the analogy broke down. Piled up high beneath the transparent plastic screens were mountains of good old-fashion terran food. It certainly wasn't the finest cuisine in Citadel Space, but it beat the hell out of MREs.

No sooner had he seen the food than Will found himself pressed up against the screen, saliva dripping from his mouth.

Something hit him sharply on the head. Will looked up to see one of the cooks, a middle-aged woman in an old-fashioned hairnet and apron, glaring down at him.

"Are you going to order something, spacer?" she asked, "or are you just going to stand there and waste oxygen?"

"Right, right," Will said, looking back up, "I'll take two large double hamburgers, two ArcoFizzes – refills are free, right? They've got to be – and a side order of fries. You want anything, Claude?"

Will looked over his shoulder at the cargo master, who was clutching his stomach. "How can you…"

"No self control," Will said with a smile, plugging his credit chit into the machine. The woman shoved the tray across the counter, and Will walked off to find an empty table.

Dupree caught up with a him about thirty seconds later, carrying an apple. Will rolled his eyes.

"Hey," Dupree said conspiratorially, leaning in behind, "you see her? Over by the corridor?"

Will followed Dupree's finger. The woman standing the doorway would normally not have excited much attention, but here on Asphodel there was almost nothing that could stand out as much as blue skin and a sculpted head.

"She's an asari, Dupree," Will said, "they're an asexual species. No _way_ would she be interested."

"I'd asexual _her_ species," Dupree answered.

Will rolled his eyes. "I'm not with him," he said to the world at large, "he just followed me back from the ship."

Dupree sighed. "Figures. What's an asari doing out here, anyhow?"

Will shrugged. "Beats me."

He was about to turn around and look for another table when someone screeched out, "Truman! Dupree!"

Will turned to look back down the corridor. Mai Chen was striding directly towards them, glaring furiously.

Dupree opened his arms. "Mai, baby, where've you been?"

"I don't have time for this, Dupree," she said, "the captain wants the both of you back on the ship_ right now_. There's been a change in plans."

"What about my lunch?" Will protested, holding up the offending tray.

Chen rolled her eyes. "Fine, if it means that much to you. Just get back to the ship. Noveria's waiting."

Will raised an eyebrow. Noveria? Why the hell would they be going to _Noveria_?

"_Truman_!"

He snapped back to his senses, and followed.


	2. 02 Ice And Snow

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, Noveria, snow, Makos, the Systems Alliance, ExoGeni Corporation, turians or Elanus Risk Control.

Chapter 02 – Ice and Snow

Dupree leaned back against the side of the transport rover, clutching his jacket closer to his body and teeth chattering. The rover was big – about twenty meters long, but with a powerful enough mass effect field to move smoothly over Noveria's rough snowy terrain. The cold wind whipped at his cheeks, and his breath lingered in puffs of smoke in front of him.

"I hate Noveria," he announced.

"Yeah," Will said, sliding down onto the outer ring beside him, "we can see that."

Dupree stared at Will for the space of about two seconds before realizing the engineer was still wearing his work clothes. "How do you come out here in that?"

Will smiled. "Feels just like home."

"You two done yet?"

The two looked over their shoulders. Captain Dalton was standing in the hatchway in snow gear.

"We almost there, ma'am?" Will asked, grabbing hold of the hatchway and rising slowly to his feet.

Dalton pointed at an arcology just ahead of the rover. "Almost. That's Peak 5 right over there."

"Is… big," Dupree commented, to cold to manage anything more coherent.

And it _was_ big. At first, Dupree could easily have mistaken it for one of the surrounding mountains, but as the rover drew close enough to make it out clearly amongst the swirling snow, it became apparent that it was shaped nothing like a mountain. It looked like an enormous spike, rising out of the ground to a truly absurd height, painted in neutral grays and blues.

"What's that outside?" Will asked.

Dupree squinted. There_were_ several shapes just outside the arcology, not as big as the rover, but much bigger than any human. It was difficult to see him then in the snow, as they were painted a pale white, but if he squinted enough…

"Makos…" he muttered.

"Makos?" Will said, surprised, "What's the Alliance doing out here?"

"We don't ask questions, Truman," Dalton chided, "we just deliver the cargo."

Will shrugged and stepped back inside, leaving Dupree shivering on the side of the rover.

* * *

Sergeant Markus Garran, Elanus Risk Control Security, was not a happy turian.

It wasn't the cold that bothered him – he'd seen action on half a dozen frozen worlds before his service with ERCS. Nor was it the isolation – he'd once spent over a standard month in a tin can freighter waiting for a pirate attack.

No, what bothered him was that not _one_ of the humans who ran Peak 5 seemed to have a damned clue about basic security protocol.

"Doctor Werner," he shouted, "I demand to know why I was not informed about this delivery."

Peak 5's aging administrator leaned back into his chair and placed his hands together, his fingers forming a peak. Markus tried not to roll his eyes. He'd work with enough human officials to see recognize the meaning behind the gesture, and it wasn't helping his blood pressure.

"Sergeant Garran," Werner began, "are you familiar with the concept of plausible deniability?"

Markus _did_ roll his eyes, this time. He'd heard this one before.

"Perhaps _turian_ corporations are irresponsible enough to advertise to everyone and his brother when they're moving dangerous materials about, but ExoGeni has a duty to its shareholders to see that Peak 5 makes a profit. If anything were to go wrong with the shipment, and the Executive Council knew we were involved, we could very well lose the facility and all the money we've spent on it."

"And what about your duty to _Noveria_?" Markus asked.

"We don't _have_ a duty to Noveria, sergeant," Werner said, rising to his feet, "the Executive Council does. We'd be quite displeased at their inability to prevent the tragic accident."

Markus tried very hard to control himself. Three months working with these humans and he_still_ hadn't gotten used to the way some of the slime did business.

"Excuse me?"

Markus turned around. Four humans – two males, two females – were standing in the door.

"Ah," Werner said, "Captain Dalton. So good of you to join us."

"Yes," Markus said, chidingly, to the lead human, "perhaps _you_ could be bothered to tell me just what the hell is going on around here."

The captain stared back at him. "Of course, sergeant," she said calmly and matter-of-factly, "My crew and I were asked to deliver a shipment of several sealed canisters to your facility, no questions asked, for a sum of several million credits. We are here for our money. Where is it?"

"Yes, yes," Werner said, "we'll transfer the funds to your accounts within a few hours. In the meantime, captain, why don't you and your crew stay and enjoy the fine hospitality of Peak 5?"

"You have _got_ to be kidding," one of the male humans said.

"Shut _up_, Dupree," the captain chided, "It would be our pleasure, Doctor Werner."

"Good. I'll make sure the necessary arrangements are…"

Markus com crackled. "Sergeant?"

Markus waved a hand to the administrator, who silenced himself, then tapped a claw to the com. He recognized the voice on the other end – Sarah Landry, Peak 5's medic, one of the few humans on the base he didn't have a compulsion to murder. "What is it?"

"Down at the Junction Station tram platform, sir. We've got a problem."

"_What_ problem?" Markus asked.

"I… I think you need to come see for yourself, sergeant."

"I'm on my way." He let go of the com. "Something's come up," he said, "I'll leave you to your discussion."

He pushed out past the humans and down the corridor.

* * *

Will led the pack as the crew of the _Infinite_ made their way back to the ship, drifting just ahead of the rest.

"Did you see the way that security officer looked at the captain?" Chen asked.

Dalton rolled her eyes. "Turians."

"He stormed off pretty quickly, though," Dupree said, "Wonder where he went."

"Something rotten in the state of Peak 5, I'll bet," Will added.

Dupree shrugged. "Well, that's what you get for trying to uncover secrets man was not meant to know on Planet Blizzard. What was _in_ those canisters, anyway, captain?"

"I honestly have no idea," Dalton admitted, "probably something dangerous, from the way they were sealed, but the seller wanted no questions asked."

Just as they turned the corner to the rover bay, they ran into a pair of ERCS guards coming the other way.

"Ma'am?" one of them said.

"Is there a problem, officers?" Dalton asked.

"No, ma'am… it's just that Sergeant Garran wanted us to warn you…"

"Well?" Dalton asked, "Spit it out!"

"There's been a break-in. We have an intruder on the base."


	3. 03 Step Into My Parlor

Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect, ERCS, the _Agincourt_, Klencory or thresher maws.

**Chapter 03 – Step Into My Parlor**

Markus was not an expert on physiology, but he knew enough to know that Landry looked terrible. The medic was bent over several unconscious ERCS guards, her eyes glazed and her face haggard. The tram platform was all but abandoned, lit only by flickering lights.

"What happened here?" Markus asked.

Landry rose to her feet and shuddered. "I'm still not sure, sir. Looks like someone hit the tram station and took the tram down to Junction Station."

"Thieves?" Markus asked.

"What the hell would thieves want with Junction?" Landry asked, "nothing out there but test tubes and vats."

Markus paused and stared up at the ceiling, contemplating.

"Lock down the base," he ordered, finally.

"With what?" Landry asked, "They already took out the guards here, it's not as if…"

"We've got fifty ERCS guards and Werner's private army, doctor," Markus said, "figure something out."

Landry sighed. "Yes, sir."

* * *

"How long are they going to keep us here?" Dupree whined. Will sunk back into his chair and rolled his eyes. The Administrator's Office was an unusual place. It _should_ have been the most comfortable place in the arcology, complete with cushy seats and heating, but it felt more like being a schoolboy waiting for the principal to meet with him, and the heating only served to make his extremities feel like they were on fire while leaving the rest of his body cold. 

"Until they catch the intruder," Chen said, "were you not paying attention?"

"Do you have any idea how big these arcologies are, Mai?" Dupree shouted, "we could be here for days!"

"They've got guards, security cameras, and very big guns," Chen retorted, "I think they'll find some way to manage."

"_Absolutely not!_"

All four whipped their heads around to see Garran and Werner both stepping through the door.

"Administrator, I don't think you fully grasp the situation here," Garran said, "there is an armed intruder inside Junction Station. If we don't respond with everything we have…"

"Sergeant, I don't think you understand," Werner shouted back, "those people out there are not _my_ people. They are the _Alliance_'s people. I can't mobilize them without a direct order from Major Harper."

Garran roared and slammed the wall. Werner stepped back.

"I'm_ sorry_, sergeant," he protested, "but there's nothing I can do."

"Excuse me?"

Garran stopped. Captain Dalton stood up.

"Did you see Major_Harper_? As in Thomas Harper?"

Garran glared at her. "Yes."

"I've met Tom before, we served on the _Agincourt_ together. If you could let me see him…"

"Out of the question!" Werner shouted, "Major Harper has specifically requested that he does not want to be disturbed except in the case of an emergency…"

"I'm sorry, administrator," Garran interrupted, "perhaps you weren't paying attention. We. Have. An. Intruder. On. The. Base. If _that_ doesn't count as an emergency, _nothing_ does. If you're not going to cooperate, I recommend you stay here and hide under your desk. You four, come with me. We've got someone to talk to."

* * *

Major Harper's office was several floors above the administrator's, and easily recognized from the black-armored marines standing guard outside. The label on the door read, "Sgt. Markus Garran, ERCS." Will was beginning to get a good idea of how things went around here. 

The two marines drew their assault rifles as they approached.

"Freeze!" one shouted, "Don't come any closer."

"It's alright," Dalton said, "I'm an old friend of the major's. We need to see him."

"Major Harper does not want to be disturbed," the marine said.

Dalton rolled her eyes. "Bloody typical. _Tom Harper, you get that door open right now!_"

The marines whirled around as the door swung open, and Major Thomas Harper stepped out.

"Mother Miranda," he said, laughing, "never thought I'd see your smiling face again."

"So she's always been like that?" Dupree whispered to Will.

"I heard that!" Chen snapped. Dupree snapped back to rapt silence.

"Never mind them," Dalton said, "can we come in?"

"Oh, sure, sure," Harper said, walking back towards Garran's desk. The others followed.

"So, captain," he said, "how's life as a civilian been?"

"I don't know, major," Dalton said, "how's life as furniture been?"

Harper laughed. "The red tape's not so bad once you learn what you can get out of it…"

"Are you two quite finished?" Garran interrupted, "We have a bit of a situation here."

"Oh?" Harper asked.

"There's an intruder on the base," Garran explained, "he's in Junction Station, but we need to lock down the entire arcology if we want to keep him from escaping."

Harper nodded. "I trust you have enough men for the job?"

"You think ERCS pays us by the hour?" Garran responded.

Harper smiled. "I understand completely, turian. I know what it's like to be underhanded. My men will cooperate."

Garran let out a sigh of relief. "Finally, someone with some brains. Maybe we can get this situation under control."

"Agreed," Dalton said, "Dupree, you head down to the hangar and get those canisters unloaded. I'll stay here with Major Harper. Chen, keep an eye on Truman."

"What?" Will asked, "Since when do I need 'keeping an eye on?'"

"Since Klencory."

"That cat had it coming!" Will protested.

"What about Klencory?" Chen asked innocently.

"Oh, right," Dupree said, "You weren't there, were you?"

"Good," Will finished, eager to get out of here, "Mai, we're leaving _right now_."

Dalton laughed as the engineer slipped out of the office and ran off down the hall.

* * *

"Come on, Truman," Chen said, "Tell me." 

Will rolled his eyes. He'd hoped that getting away from the others would make the pilot shut up. He should be so lucky.

"I really, _really_ don't want to talk about it," he said, stepping through the hatch into Peak 5's cafeteria.

Chen rolled her eyes. "Fine," she laughed, "have it your way."

Will sighed and sat down at an empty, out of the way table. Chen sat down beside him.

"So," he said, "what about _you_?"

Chen raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

"What does the captain's terrier do when she isn't flying the ship? What stupid and embarrassing thresher-maw related things have _you_ done?"

Chen raised an eyebrow. "Thresher maw?"

"We're talking about _you_."

She laughed. "To be honest, there isn't that much to talk about. I flew frigates for the Navy, I met the captain, we left the military together and lived a happy life working the Traverse. End of story."

"There's _got_ to be something more there," Will said, "Why did you leave the military?"

"Why did _you_ sign up with a tramp freighter?" Chen retorted, "I don't see you spilling _your_ life secrets."

Will rolled his eyes. "I don't _have_ any life secrets, Chen. I went to school, I got my flight badge, I shipped out with you guys. No deep story here."

"Then that makes two of us, I guess," Chen said, "Why don't we…"

Chen's com crackled. "Chen? Truman?" Captain Dalton said.

"What is it, ma'am?" Chen asked.

"We need both of you down in the cargo bay right now."

"Why?" Will asked.

"Dupree's dead."


End file.
